USA Today via Reuters
Dec 26, 2020; Portland, Oregon, USA; Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) dribbles the ball during the first half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Dec 26, 2020; Portland, Oregon, USA; Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (13) dribbles the ball during the first half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Two Western Conference juggernauts are set to clash at the Pepsi Center in Denver on Monday night. The game will take place at 9:00 PM ET, as the Houston Rockets will be visiting the Denver Nuggets. Both teams will look forward to getting their first wins of the season.
For the Rockets, James Harden put on historic numbers in their last fixture vs the Blazers. The game went to OT, but all the effort went in vain as they lost by just 2 points. However, they do have a silver lining – James Harden is still at the top of his game.
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Despite him wanting to leave the organization, he is not slacking off in any way. In fact, against the Nuggets, we might witness an epic duel between Harden and Jamal Murray. Murray, who impressed everyone in the Orlando Bubble, is yet to find his groove this season. Can he find his touch against the Rockets?
Houston Rockets injury updates and expected lineup
The Rockets are down badly with injury troubles. Many players on their roster, including stars such as John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Eric Gordon, are quarantined for seven days. They won’t be able to play in their clash vs the Nuggets as well. Furthermore, Ben McLemore and Kenyon Martin Jr. will be unavailable on Monday night due to illness.
Rockets’ John Wall, Eric Gordon, DeMarcus Cousins, Mason Jones have received 7-day quarantines that sideline them from games at Portland on Saturday and at Denver on Monday. They are expected to return to the lineup Thursday vs. the Kings.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 26, 2020
This leaves the Rockets with a relatively small rotation and their predicted lineup is Sterling Brown (G), James Harden (G), David Nwaba (F), Danuel House (F), and Christian Wood (C).
Denver Nuggets injury updates and expected lineup
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After putting on a phenomenal playoff run last season, the Nuggets have struggled earlier this season. They are off to a 0-2 start, but it is not due to any injury troubles. In fact, in their recent injury list, every player on the roster is fit and ready to go.
USA Today via Reuters
December 12, 2020; San Francisco, California, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) shoots the basketball against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the first quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Keeping that in mind, the 5 players that are expected to enter the court as starters are Jamal Murray (G), Gary Harris (G), Michael Porter Jr. (F), Paul Millsap (F), and Nikola Jokic (C).
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Game prediction
As they have an extremely small rotation, the Houston Rockets might lose this one. They are not at their 100% and they are pretty much solely dependent on Harden to go off. So it appears that the Murray-Jokic duo may finally get their first win of the season.
